Satya purveyors provide 244 types of tea

Satya Tea owners David Moore and Laura Evans prepare for this weekend’s Halifax Tea Festival to be held at the Halifax Music Co-op on Brunswick Street in Halifax. The pair blend and package 244 tea varieties. (TED PRITCHARD / Staff)

When David Moore took over his grandfather’s loose-leaf tea business in 2010, only three flavours were available. Today, Moore and Satya Tea offer 244 different varieties.

This weekend, at the first annual Halifax Tea Festival, Moore finally has a chance to share and showcase his work.

“We’re always looking for exposure,” said Moore, 26. “But it’s that face-to-face exposure we’re really keen on. This event will make it easy for us to just talk to people about our tea, especially because we don’t have a retail storefront.”

Satya’s ingredients are imported from all over the world, but the tea is blended and packaged at its facility in Dartmouth. Moore said local loose-leaf tea drinkers have probably tried his blends without even knowing it.

“If you go to enVie, the vegan restaurant, and have tea, it’s ours,” he said. “The Brasserie, it’s ours. If you have a specialty tea at Baton Rouge, it’s ours. We’re out there, but you don’t know it’s us.”

Ashton Rodenhiser, 28, is trying to change that with the tea festival. She’s a local creative designer and event planner and is the mastermind behind this weekend’s festival.

“It’s going to be an interactive event with lots of vendors and samples,” Rodenhiser said. “It will give folks the chance to try new kinds of tea and discover a whole world of local suppliers.”

When it comes to Moore’s business, that’s exactly what he needs.

“It’s always great to make that initial connection, because people then go out to these cafes and drink our tea, creating buzz for them and for us,” said Moore. “And then people who haven’t heard of us get to sample our tea, and that’s when they smile and say ‘wow.’”

The festival is being held Saturday and Sunday at the Halifax Music Co-Op on Brunswick Street, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. The event will feature live music and a variety of workshops, including tea growing 101 and the history of tea.